Inspiration Thursday

Blue and white - what a great colour combination. And while I'm more a fan of baby blue, the colour of the sky in these photos is something else (especially coming out of a grey winter).





Happy Thursday!

Orla Love

Excited to see this a little while back -


Yes, Orla Kiely quilt covers/pillowcases/towels available in Australia (OK, maybe they're available elsewhere but I've not seen them) and at Myer no less. From September. I'm there.

Sunday Stash (on a Monday)

As inspired by Rabbit and the Duck, I'm joining 1/4 of an inch's Sunday Stash (my contribution - I'm doing it on a Monday). Woot! My stash is tucked away, out of sight, and features lots of hand printed fabric from Australian designers (the fabric mafia!) so I thought I'd start with one of the first bits that I bought. And please ignore the massive creases!


It's by Julie Patterson of Cloth and it's called Wattle (Sunny) and features three colours printed onto an upholstery-weight cotton/linen basecloth. One of my fave things about this is the mis-registration - or perhaps it's on purpose - so some of the colours overlap. I also love the large scale of the image, the colours and the fact that it's a little bit nana, but not at all when you look closer at it.



My original intention was to turn it into a laptop bag but I couldn't bring myself to cut it up. I'm kinda glad of that, as I now think it'd be perfect for a table runner. One day, maybe...but until then it's going back to the stash!

Inspiration Thursday (on a Monday)

Haven't had a chance to sit down at my computer since I took these photos on Thursday, but thought I'd show them now anyway (and maybe show Thursday inspiration photos more regularly). Generally I find Thursdays are a good day, and this definitely has something to do with them being a studio day. Last Thursday was no different - hot chocolate in the afternoon in the sun, seeing familiar walls in a new light and going shopping at lunch to get the new(ish) MixTape.



And my fave bits from MixTape 10 -

• The design - it is looking really great and next issue will have a new look and shape, so can't wait to see that
  
• Aunty Cookie book plates - can't go wrong here
• Tips for green renters from greenrenters.org, including recipes for cleaning products - I'll be making these next weekend as I hate the smell of commercial cleaning products (even the green ones stink)
  
• Pattern for a crochet thimble-holding necklace - it might just give me inspiration to again attempt crochet, as it's so cute and looks kinda straightforward
  

And I'm not through it yet, so I'm sure to have more to add to the list, but a sneak-peak reveals that a pattern to make a mouse and a sausage roll recipe await, yay! Thanks MixTape.

Made It mania

I went crazy today, filling up my Made It shop with stuff. OK, that might be a slight exaggeration, but it did go from having zero items in it to four. Whew. And I felt pretty proud of myself at the end of it, as listing stuff really ain't the funnest task. So if you're after a lavender bag, you're in luck, as they're one of the items listed. Yay for lavender.



Made It seems to have changed quite a bit in the last little while, with lots of new features (and needed features, like offering the option of overseas shipping. Duh.) And working in Australian dollars is a nice change from Etsy. Oh, and they've just released a wee recipe zine, which I couldn't help but buy as I'm a sucker for such stuff and it looks super cute (and is a mere six bucks). Go Aussie craftsters!

Dear Melbourne...

..I love you. I love that you make me walk to the market - with all my stuff in tow - in the rain. And follow shortly after with gale-force winds. Oh well, at least I was inside this time. Because there was no other option. And I'm sure next time will be amazing and sunny, and no-one will have their life threatened by large wooden boxes being blown over in the crazy wind. Yeah, I'm positive of this.

It goes without saying that I had more lovely and inspiring neighbours who make amazing things. And next time I'm going to remember to take photos of their stuff, not just my own, and get their online particulars so I can share link love. But from yesterday I have details of just one, the lovely Sharon Margaret who knits the best stuff - light bulb covers, liquorice allsorts, tampons, you name it. Genius.

Exterior inspiration

As hinted at yesterday and confirmed today, spring is most definitely not far off. No jacket weather! No tights necessary, even. Woo!


Almost forgot about the Thread Den market, which now seems like forever ago, as I haven't had a chance to look at the snaps I took until now. It was fun, but as you can see in this snap, the Lithuanian Club is dark. But cute. Great wood panelling and chandeliers. And from the other stuff I saw in my v. quick zip around, cute stuff there. Yay for markets!

Interior inspiration

Trying to find time to sit down at the computer has not been so easy in the last couple of weeks, but when I spied this site (found by my eagle-eyed BF who knows I'm a sucker for such things) I couldn't tear myself away: OWI // Office for Word and Image - "specialized in full reportages, including text and images on architecture and interiors".


House Jef, Image courtesy of OWI


House Uyttenhove, image courtesy of OWI


Barn House, image courtesy of OWI

Sigh and swoon. Yep, I'm definitely going into withdrawal now that the latest season of Grand Designs has finished.

Slightly wonky

I've been playing around with a few ideas for signage, included the stuffed, 3-D variety. This S looks a little bit wrong but was kind of fun to make.

And I'm a bit slow off the mark, but now have a new favourite blog. Bless all that sweetness, inspiration and such good taste!

Post- & pre-market post

Here are some snaps from my first Rose Street Sunday Market stall.





Although a little quiet (not surprising, as it's the first time the market's been on a Sunday) all up it was fun, mainly thanks to all my lovely neighbours, including Penny from Pocket Carnival (who makes sweet little zip purses, clutches, tote bags & art prints and who had a giant sign in the shape of a bunny - so cute) and Martine from Green Olive (who has the most organised market set-up ever, along with hand printed fabric and handknitted scarves to battle the ongoing Melbourne winter.)


My stall


Penny's stall - love the polka dots and you can't miss that giant rabbit!

It was a wee bit cold towards the end, but the sun shone for bursts throughout the day, which was lovely. Oh, and great food - I started with a custard & chocolate tart and strong coffee, followed that with a BLT for lunch, then had a hot chocolate with marshmallows to warm my hands towards the end. Mmm! And I'll be there again on Sunday week, 16 August from 11-5, to do it all over again.

The first Thread Den market is next, on this Sunday from 10-2 (more details here or click on the flier below). It should be a bit different from most other markets - a mix of vintage, indie design, handmade and bric-a-brac - and I can't wait to see all the lovely things that will be for sale (I always end up wanting to buy half the market, which is a slight problem!) Hope to see you there if you're in Melbourne. Here are some of the things I'll be selling:



Metal fabric-covered buttons, that might just finish off a sewing project you're working on!


Sweet little lavender bags with a linen hang-tag


Magnets and badges covered in my screen printed fabric

New workbench

Photo courtesy of Jem S Freeman

OK, it's not quite so new (have had it for a week or two now) but how great is my new work bench? You might not be able to tell from the above photo, but with the bench top it's two meters long and one meter deep. And it's tall, so no more sore back from working on a too-short-table. And the best part - it's custom made by studio mates Like Butter :)

Now I'd better get to work, so I'm ready for my first Rose St Market tomorrow!